:: The Bitch Girls ::

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:: Saturday, October 26, 2002 ::

Masculinity I really find this Republican Boy v. Libertarian Man debate fascinating. It really raises this whole new question for me which is completely non-partisan. So I am writing a paper for one of my classes on masculinity in American culture and how there are varying "types" of masculine and therefore "types" of men. In my essay, I use the examples of the Marlboro man, the Playboy, and the well-to-do (dare we assume uppity Republican schmuck?) stable provider to juxtapose (sorry if I can't spell and I am too lazy to look it up in the dictionary) the different characteristics that go along with each portrayl of masculinity. The conflicting portraits of what a man should be leaves men trying to be everything or wondering which one to pick, and women wanting everything all rolled into one. Similar to what Spooky said about having intellectual standards, I speak of a sort of mental checklist of basic qualities that any potential mate (let's forget about one night stands in which the only requirement is physical attraction and even this is negotiable depending on level of inebriation and span of time since last hook-up) must meet and admit my own pickiness, which I am extrememly confident in saying goes above and beyond any of the other bitches for multiple reasons. Let's face it ladies, while you may want a guy who can communicate well and is comfortable in expressing himself, he can't be stereotypically gay in his sensitivity or overly sappy because then you start thinking "Oh would you just be a man?!" Honestly, I am not only picky, but my checklist is pretty dang long. I want a man who is intellegent and with whom I can carry on an intellegent conversation; who I can talk to about the serious and the completely non-serious; who will be romantic, but not sickeningly so; who will be sensitive but still be a man; who will be a good provider (ie. desk job that pays well) but still be wild at heart and enjoy being a rugged outdoorsy man's man. Really, I, like many other women, want it all: the man's man, the lady's man, the rugged man, the sophisticated man, the gentle man, the strong man, the restless (but not in a fidelity sense) man and the stable man... and let's not forget a man who is physically attractive... I mean honestly, you're never gonna be all like "I noticed your personality all the way across the room" and if there is no element of physical attraction, it won't get past friendship. Hmm, is that it? Did I list all of my basic requirements? Oh, yeah, and not being a schmuck (I don't care what your party affiliation) is a must, too.

I guess where I was going with all of this before I started off on a tangent there at the end is, what is masculinity? What does it mean to be a man? What do men aspire to be? What do women want from their men? (hmm... maybe I could get some good ideas for my paper from posing this question on the blog...)